Hi everyone! Sorry it took so long to update! Summer jobs are a pain in the ass! Big time...
Sorano101 - Thanks, I was hoping Aly seemed like her own person. And her past just makes it more so, I hope!
BinkaWV - Yeah, having Mihawk for an unlce would rock big time.
xX-Avast-Xx -
A-Static-Lullaby-Baby - I'm glad!
Sanji-kunZoro-san - I plan on it! And cool name!
ChainofDreams - I know the feeling, trust me. But as long as we update every once in a while, people shouldn't get out the torches and pitchforks... I hope...
Mirathin - Uncle Mihawk! Awesomeness at it's best.
Alright, I have to take off to my job, so enjoy, don't forget to review, all reviewers recieve cookies... and I'll see you soon! I hope...
Chapter 15
A Painful Past
Aly's POV
Faster than I could follow, Zolo had me by the shirt front, almost lifting me from the ground. I held onto his wrist as the rest of the crew looked on.
"Hawk eye Mihawk is related to you? And your uncle at that? How could you keep something like that secret!" the green haired swordsman yelled. The air itself seemed darker in response to his anger.
"Because of the reaction I knew I'd get!" I gasped, my air supply a bit limited at the moment. "I wasn't trying to keep it a secret! It was just… too hard to say…"
I landed with a thump as Zolo suddenly let go of me. Looking up, I saw him glaring at Sanji, who was glaring right back.
"Don't you know how to treat a lady? You shit swordsman!" Sanji yelled, aiming a kick at Zolo's head.
"Shut up! This has nothing to do with you!" Zolo yelled, ducking to avoid the kick.
"It does when you mistreat a lady-"
"ENOUGH!"
Everyone turned to stare at me. I sighed, putting a hand to my head.
"Enough damn fighting. I've had enough of it for one day." I growled, ready to rip off the head of anyone who disagreed.
"Of course, Aly! Anything you say!" Sanji said, floating around with heart eyes.
Zolo said nothing, only treated me with a look like I had never seen before, then headed for the ship. I stared after him. I knew this would happen, which is why I hadn't said anything. Admitting that you were related to one of the Warlords was asking for trouble. And as much as I love kicking random people's asses, I would much rather avoid trouble.
"Come on. I have to bandage that wound back at the ship." Chopper said, tugging at my hand.
Allowing Sanji and Nami to help me up, I grabbed my sword and sheathed it. The sound of the ringing steel in my ears made me uneasy as we walked back to the ship.
Why was that damn swordsman's look messing with my brain? It's not like I didn't know this was coming… but it seemed so familiar…
Why was it so easy for that swordsman to get under my skin?
"Hawk-Eye Mihawk is my uncle. My mother's brother. For a long time, he lived with my family on our island, not having a family of his own. He said it was better that way. The less connections he had, the less people would get hurt from his position as Warlord of the Seas." I stared at the cup I held in my hands. "Then, a little over six years ago, he suddenly left the island, and left me alone to care for my younger siblings."
The crew was gathered in the galley, listening to me finally recount the painful tale of my past. Even Zolo was there, leaning against the wall near the door. Though he hadn't met my eye the entire time we had been back on the ship, I could tell he was listening to everything I said.
"Alone? What about your parents?" Luffy asked, a rare, serious look on his face.
"My father… was a drunk. Had been for as long as I could remember." I said haltingly, fisting my hands inside the too long sleeves of my hoodie. "All he provided to my family was a source of income and a constant. He… he used to beat us… all of us… me, my siblings… even my mother… Mihawk confronted him a million times, and no matter how many times he was beaten, my father still seemed to sink to the bottom of a bottle. He wasn't much help when it came to raising kids…"
I stopped talking, taking a sip of whatever was in the cup in front of me. The rest of the crew was silent, absorbing this new information about me. But I wasn't done talking. I was just hoping they wouldn't catch on…
"You told me you promised your mother you would fulfill your dream."
I looked up at the swordsman near the door. Even though he wasn't even looking in my direction, he was talking to me.
"Yes, I did." I said quietly.
More silence, the question no one wanted to speak hanging in the air. I could feel it, and was half tempted to ignore it and move on. But it would only rear it's head later. Like when we finally arrived at my home…
"My mother…" I choked out, "died… six years ago. I was thirteen at the time… I promised her the night she died that I would become the greatest Elemental the world had ever seen, and that I would become a great swordswoman to defend my home and family…" I paused, swallowing the tears that were choking my voice. "After she died, I had to take care of my younger siblings. My father disappeared into a haze of constant rage, and my uncle… left after her funeral."
My words broke off, my voice no longer strong enough to speak them. There, hard part over. Parents are out of the way.
"My siblings didn't know what to do after my mother passed." I continued in a slightly stronger voice. "I took care of them, taking the beatings of my father to protect them, shielding them from the eyes of the village… My family was highly regarded until my father decided to become a drunk. He was the best sword smith in the world at the time. My uncle the best swordsman in the world. My mother the best and youngest full Elemental the island had ever seen. There was so much to live up to. And when I began to follow in my mother's footsteps, the village began watching like vultures. Waiting for me to mess up, waiting for a chance to cut me down from behind. It never came because she protected me. It only took me eight years to accomplish what took many half their lives. But once I had Blake and Eva to think about, I almost gave up my dream, just to make it easier on them as they grew.
Of course, I still had my friends that helped me out. We were a band of five. We liked to pretend we represented the divine beings of the island. There were five of us, so it almost fit. We were usually called the divine rejects behind our backs… Serenity. Her brother Harper. Kairi. Liam." I felt Nami's eyes on me. "And myself. We all had crazy dreams, we were all Elementals in training, we were all interested in swordplay. It was like we were meant to be friends…" I trailed off, once again out of things to say. "Questions, if you have any."
No one spoke. No one even moved. They all had dark pasts. I knew that, even if I didn't know their full stories. Now, they knew about the terrors that plagued me. Taking a sip of what I now identified as coffee, I continued.
"I took care of my siblings for almost four years, until Blake was old enough to look after Eva. Then, I left. At the age of 17, I left my home and set out to see the world. A lot of things happened in the two year stretch between then and now, and I would prefer not to go into detail about them today. But I'll just add this. The ship you found me on was a pirate ship, on which I was a slave for seven months."
Damn, this silence thing was getting old… Standing, I put my cup on the table.
"Wait! Aren't you going to eat dinner?" Sanji asked, looking concerned. I smiled at him, though it was forced.
"For some unknown reason, I'm not very hungry." I said.
A moment of silence, then…
"SANJI! I'M HUNGRY!" Luffy yelled, making everyone jump.
"Geez Luffy! Give us all a heart attack…" Nami muttered, holding the front of her shirt.
I smiled as the kitchen exploded into noise, just like it always was. Walking out the doorway, I saw Zolo still standing there. I stopped, so we were standing side by side. He looked at the floor away from me as I stared straight ahead.
"If you don't give up your dream, I won't give up mine."
Without a backwards glance, I left the kitchen. Climbing onto deck, I stood leaning against the railing, looking at the sandbar. Tomorrow, we would pass it, and be ever closer to my island.
Ever closer for me to relive the nightmare of my past.
"Damn it, damn it, damn it!" I muttered, clutching my burning side. "Damn it Mihawk! Why the hell do the wounds from your sword always freaking burn!"
Here I was, up in the crows nest, under the light of the moon. I had traded Usopp watch duty, saying I couldn't get to sleep anyways. I had no idea who was on duty next, but I figured I still had a good hour or two before it hit trade off time.
"Ow! Damn it all!" I winced as my side sent a new wave of pain through me.
Why the hell was this tiny little scratch bothering me? I had endured a lot worse without so much as a whimper, yet here I was wishing I could cut out my side and be done with it. I mean, it's true that rolling around in the sand with an open wound wasn't a great idea, but Chopper had washed it out and all that good stuff when he bandaged it. So everything was okay? Right?
Sighing, I held my side and shed my jacket. Leaning against the mast, I enjoyed the cool night air. So far, the watch had been peaceful. The only thing that troubled me was the memory of the look Zolo had graced me with after my battle. I gazed down at the sandbar. A few bloodstains were evident in the moon's bluish glow, the sand looking like it had been through one of the crew's stampedes for food, but nothing more gave away the ferocity of the battle we had fought.
But that look… it was so familiar… yet I was sure no one had ever looked at me like that…
I closed my eyes, remembering the many faces I made when things went wrong in my childhood life. My father beating me to a pulp didn't bother me, but when I found out something that betrayed my trust… that was it…
"SHIT!" I yelled, then immediately covered my mouth. Even though a cannon going off couldn't wake this crew, there was no point in screaming anyway. "Oh shit! That's it!" I continued in a much softer voice.
"Usopp, what the hell is your problem?"
I turned to see Zolo jump into the crows nest. He opened his mouth to say more, but when he saw me, his face changed to a look of surprise.
"What the hell are you doing up here? Usopp had this watch." He said, looking confused.
"I traded it with him. I couldn't sleep anyway." I said, looking up at the stars.
"Well, I'm on next watch, so clear out." Zolo wore a neutral expression, avoiding my eyes.
"Right. Sorry." I spoke softly, trying to hide my disappointment. He was still pissed about the whole relation thing.
Getting to my feet, a sudden bolt of pain rushed though my body. Gasping, I doubled over, losing what balance I had. Suddenly, a pair of strong arms had me in their grasp.
"Are you okay?"
I looked up to see Zolo staring down at me, looking… concerned.
"Yeah, I'm fine." I said, the pain ebbing away.
"Are you sure?"
"Zolo, I'm fine. It's no big deal." I tried to glare, but didn't have the energy. Wasn't he the one who was just pissed at me? Why was he suddenly so concerned?
Pushing away his hands, I stood on my own, only to loose my balance again and fall into him. For a moment, he stiffened, my head resting on his chest. Then he put his arms around me.
"You're not okay." He stated.
"Thank you Captain Obvious." I said, without the usual barb in my voice.
This felt so… right. His arms wrapped around me made me feel… safe.
"I'm sorry." I muttered.
"What?" he asked, looking down at me.
"About keeping Mihawk a secret. About not telling you earlier when I knew it was important to you. Stuff like that. I'm sorry for it."
The moment of silence that followed scared me more than any battle I had ever faced. What if he didn't accept it? What if he was still mad at me? All of a sudden I was nine again, holding up my arms in hope of a hug, getting a kick in the stomach instead.
"It's alright." Zolo said.
"What?" I asked somewhat stupidly. "You aren't mad?"
"Like hell I'm not. But… you had your reasons, so I guess I can't blame you." He said, releasing me from his embrace. "Let me help you down."
"No thanks." I said, gathering up my jacket. "As pathetic as I am, I still have a shred of pride left."
"And who was it that told me to accept help from those who wouldn't hold it against them?" Zolo looked up at the starry sky, pretending to think of the origin of the quote.
"Shut up." I scowled, some of my old fire coming back. "I hate it when people through my words back at me."
Grabbing onto the ropes, I began to climb down to the railing. About half way down I stopped, a dull ache beginning to form on my left.
"Damn it." I muttered, wincing as the ache grew into a stabbing pain.
"Aly?"
I heard Zolo's call a moment before my hands slipped from the ropes. I fell forward, my eyes beginning to close. I saw the deck come up to meet me and then…
Nothing.